NASCAR Chair & CEO Brian France yesterday during his annual state-of-the-sport press conference said the governing body is "in a good spot" in its search for a new title sponsor despite the process “taking a little longer than I thought.” France, speaking before the sold-out Sprint Cup finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, said, “It’s a big, important agreement -- not just dollars and cents; it’s about the right fit. We don’t want to announce anything certainly around this weekend. ... we’ll have to see how it finally pans out.” NASCAR this summer said an October announcement was the most likely scenario. Monster Energy was among the finalists for the role, according to sources and a published report by Motorsport.com, but Monster VP/Sports Marketing Mitch Covington declined comment Friday when asked via e-mail about the talks (Adam Stern, Staff Writer). Covington said that Monster is "set to continue sponsoring Supercross next season as well as Cup driver Kurt Busch." It also will continuing sponsoring fellow Cup driver Kyle Busch "through its Nos brand" (Bob Pockrass, ESPN.com, 11/20).
